Hello,
I have always been anxious about getting an STD from a sex toy in case that the online seller accidentally sold a used one which was refunded or that the seller buys from a source which sells used sex toys which are refurbished.
I don't know how likely this is but just think about what's all happening in our times. I mean they fake drugs and plane parts. Why should they not also resell used sex toys!?

Anway, I have always been told things like "You cannot get HIV from a sex toy which you buy online cause the virus would never survive such a long time".

But now I heard about a story where a woman supposedly got HIV from a manicure and that scientists are now worrying that maybe the HIV virus actually survives MUCH longer on surfaces than we thought!

Because of this I'm totally freaked out now. What if I really bought a sex toy which was used?
I have never bought a sex toy which was sealed in plastic so that the customer knows for sure that it's really new and not used! I don't know why companies do not pay attention to something like this.
Sex toys usually come in boxes which you can simply open and take it out. How sick is this!?

Anyway, most of the toys which I used I cleaned before use and sprayed an alcohol based disinfection spray on it. On the lable it says that it kills viruses in 20 seconds. So I thought that by doing this I'm on the safe side.

BUT now I read that viruses are VERY hard to kill on surfaces like plastic and most sex toys are made of plastic which is porous! I have a few prostate massagers and they are all made of plastic!
My concern is that all basically my disinfection attempts were totally useless because of the plastic material. I also bought an artificial vagina which is made of TPE or silicone.

I am really totally freaked out now. What do I do now?
I think I will throw all my toys away. I cannot use them anymore now. But the fear doesn't go away even if I throw them away cause I used them.

Even if I wanted to get tested for STDs then how shall I do this?
Can I simply go to my doc and tell him I want to get tested for all STDs and contagious diseases?
But how shall I explain this? And I also don't know which STDs and contagious diseases should I get tested for and how long is the time which you have to wait before you can even test if you've caught it?

Hi sully, this is anxiety again, worrying about things that are very unlikely. Yes, bad things are possible, but life is better carrying on regardless, than going to great trouble to eliminate all risks (which is practically impossible, anyway).

My worry is that I absolutely did not know that it's very hard to disinfect porous surfaces and some of the toys I bought were made of jelly which is porous! This means that spraying alcohol on these toys probably did not do much at all.

And rubber pussies also cannot be disinfected they are also made of porous material. I mean what if somebody used one of those vaginas which I bought before and came in it and then rinsed it and sent the item back saying he didn't use it and the seller sells it again as new?

And I am also worried because of the story of a woman who supposedly got HIV from a manecure! If this is true and if the virus could survive long enough on manecure equipment then this means that the virus does NOT die that quickly outside of the body.

And what about other diseases like Hepatitis C? I have no idea how long this virus can survive outside of the body. There are viruses which can live for weeks or months! The rabies virus can survive many months! I feel really bad now.

Can I simply go to a doctor and demand a HIV test and a Hepatitis C test or can he say that he doesn't think this is necessary? And I also don't know if there are any other dangerous diseases which I should get tested for.